The guests from the royal capital have finally arrived.

Everyone in Cecil City, from the officials of the government hall to every civilian in the city, was perfectly prepared.

As early as half a month ago, the news that the Duke of the North and the Holy Princess would visit Cecil at the same time was published in the newspapers and spread throughout the South, which was a great event for the Duchy of Cecil, which had just completed the unification war and the new order had not long been established.

Ordinary people may not be able to figure out the political significance or interest entanglement behind this, but at least they can understand the legal justice of the principality, and the legitimacy of the Cecil surname in this land, although Gawain does not care much about this, but people in this era are still accustomed to believing this.

So it became a big event, and it was prepared according to the standards of the big event for half a month, and on this increasingly cold winter day, a grand welcome ceremony was waiting for the guests from afar in the city of Cecil.

The team of seven magic cars drove on the North-South Avenue - the first section of modern highway built by Gawain on the "cross axis" centered on the city of Cont - the smooth and open cement road made the new magic car drive more smoothly, and the open winter wilderness on both sides soothed the mood of everyone in the car, and the Archduchess Victoria sat in the second car, through the crystal window on the door, she quietly looked at the end of the wide road.

The pavement was paved with some kind of man-made material, much like the "petrified mud" made by the alchemists of the north, but it was certainly cheaper, otherwise the Cecil would not have used it to pave the way.

The roads are lined with magic crystal lamps, indicating that Cecil's avenues are also passable at night, but the street lamps in the wilderness are far from the city...... How did the Cecil power these spar lamps? Does it have anything to do with the legendary magic web?

Almost 80 percent of the road from Rock Fort to Cecil was made up of these uniform open roads, with only a few areas being old gravel or paved roads, and those old roads were clearly under construction—a sign that the ambitious Founding Hero was ready to use them to connect his entire principality.

The Duchess thought of the "Crossroads" (Kingdom Avenue) that Ansu had built before the Misty Moon Civil Strife and that ran through the east, west, north and south of the Holy Spirit Plain, and although the rebels from all over the country had marched through the Crossroads to attack St. Sunil in the later stages of the Misty Moon Civil Strife, it had been proven that such a unified transportation system could have a surprisingly significant role in the development of the kingdom.

As long as the ruler can maintain centralized power, then the unimpeded path will only help the kingdom to develop, but the authority of the Second Dynasty has plummeted, and the kingdom road has been cut apart by the various feudal lords, but in this southern border...... Cecil had risen to the rank of no one to resist the authority of the Cecil, and their "Duchy Road" quickly spread across the wilderness......

If royal authority is to be restored, the first priority should be to reorganize the Kingdom Avenue, even if by coercion, and to put an end to the cutting of the roads by the lords everywhere—the duchess looks to the south, but her mind is the plain of the Holy Spirit.

"We're almost there." The knightess Margarita whispered, interrupting the duchess's thoughts.

She looked up and saw an unfinished wall stretching out over the wilderness ahead, the road leading straight to the outpost in front of the wall, and in the few gaps in the wall that had not been closed, large tracts of houses and buildings could be seen.

"Is that Cecil City?" She looked into the distance, "It's really large......

"No, that's just the New Town of the North Shore - and it's not finished," Margarita shook her head slightly, "We'll have to cross this area, across the mechanical bridge, to get to Cecil's Riverside Square." ”

A hint of doubt flashed in Victoria's eyes, but she didn't ask anything—she felt that she had asked enough questions along the way, and that whatever she saw next, it would be better to judge with her own eyes.

The convoy passed through the outpost and drove into Cecil's New Town on the North Shore, and as soon as he entered the city, Victoria saw the huge banners hanging on both sides of the road:

Welcome to Cecil.

The new way of welcoming made her quite amused, and soon the feeling of novelty and fun turned into surprise.

Huge banners were fastened to three floors on both sides of the road, and across the entire street, many magic crystal lamps wrapped in colored curtains were connected, and along the road, neat buildings lined up like guards, and in the open space between those buildings and the road, countless crowds had gathered—thousands of healthy and energetic people in warm winter clothes had gathered on both sides of the road on this cold winter day!

When she set out from the royal capital, Victoria had no idea that she would see such a welcoming scene - not even when she saw the majestic rock fortress, and when she saw the vibrant cities of Carol and Kant, she did not expect to see such a welcoming scene.

It's winter!!

But there were more and more people on the roadside, and the motorcade drove into the city, and the leading car sounded its horn—a loud whistle made by some kind of airbag and brass device—and the whistle sounded, and those who had gathered on the side of the road cheered loudly, not knowing whether they were cheering for the guests or for the cars.

At the same time as the whistle sounded, the sound of horses' hooves was heard in the paths on both sides, and several groups of brightly armored horsemen appeared from both sides of the road, wearing uniform white armor, wearing robes painted with Cecil's insignia, and holding flags in their hands, quickly approaching the sides of the convoy, and trotting forward with the convoy that had reduced its speed.

Victoria looked at the road outside in amazement, but her almost instinctive reserve and etiquette allowed her to respond most appropriately - she opened the window of the car in Margarita's way, and bowed slightly to the knights and townspeople outside the window.

As the convoy approached the riverbank, the buildings on both sides of the road appeared ready figures, fluttering petals from the sky, like winter snowflakes on the convoy, on the cavalry guarding the convoy, and at the end of the front, Victoria could already see the mechanical bridge that was gradually descending—

Is that a bridge made of steel?

She clearly saw the huge gear and lever structure running under the bridge, some powerful mechanical device pushing the bridge gradually down and together, and tightly toothing the two sections of the bridge deck together, the convoy did not slow down at all during the journey, and it drove right to the bridge deck at the same time as the bridge mechanism closed—the cavalry on both sides of the convoy were also moving at a constant speed, and even the pace of each horse was not in the slightest confusion.

How long have these soldiers been trained? How many soldiers of this degree did Cecil have?

The Duchess felt the mechanical vibrations of the magic car beneath her, and watched the city on the other side of the river that was powered by the power of the magic guide get closer and closer, and she heard a loud music coming from the front, a loud sound released by some kind of amplification magic, but it was not like the court-style music she had heard at any of the welcoming ceremonies, it was rapid and melodic, some like the beat of the drummers as the army marched, but it was more majestic and powerful.

Margarita's voice came from the side: "This is the 'March of the Phalanxes', I hope you enjoy this impassioned tune." ”

Is this what the founding hero liked? Is this embodying the spirit of martial arts?

Victoria nodded as reservedly as she could, appropriately expressing her admiration and satisfaction, and at this moment the convoy had already driven down the mechanical bridge, and in front of the convoy, there were welcome signs and a large crowd of people gathered.

Victoria had become accustomed to the large crowds of citizens who had gathered in the winter.

She kept a nonchalant smile and looked at the people outside the window as she could—and then she suddenly saw some people waiting on the side of the road, pointing strange things at what was supposed to be a magic device, and the expression on her face stiffened.

However, she resisted her instinctive urge to cast spells, as she noticed that there were knights and soldiers in Cecil's armor standing beside them—she guessed that the magic devices should also be part of the welcoming ceremony, and she adjusted her expression in an instant, continuing to deal with everything with a slightly detached expression.

In the next second, with a series of loud explosions, one after another pale cyan air masses suddenly rushed into the sky from the block in front of them, and exploded into large expanses of brilliant fireworks in the sky.

The entourage from the royal capital in the convoy raised their heads one after another, and opened through the windows in surprise, and even Victoria couldn't help but look a little surprised for a while.

But she quickly returned to her usual form.

It must have been the fireworks that Cecil's mages had set off to stir up the atmosphere—Victoria thought—and the kind of fireworks were not uncommon for the great nobles, and she shouldn't have made a fuss about them as they had always been an indispensable part of the feasts of the upper class.

Although the fireworks released by Cecil's mages are indeed a bit different from other places - how did they make the fireball spell explode so much? And how many mages did they organize to make such a large-scale fireworks?

"What a grand welcome - I almost forgot that it was a cold winter," the Duchess exclaimed sincerely, "I think I felt Gawain??" With the warmth and sincerity of the Duke of Cecil, this welcoming ceremony must have been costly. ”

Beside her, the female knight Margarita smiled and nodded, "Important guests should have a grand welcome." ”

"It's a lot of money to welcome those two," Hetty whispered in distress as she stood beside Gawain on the newly furnished riverside plaza, "It's almost enough for a new rune foundry......

"Important customers should have a grand welcome," Gawain smiled and glanced at Hetty, who was worried about the budget, and then turned his head to look at Rebecca who was standing on the other side of him, "The fireworks are well designed." ”

Today's Rebecca finally put on the clothes of a decent aristocratic lady, the heir of Cecil was wearing a light blue court dress, trying to maintain a quiet and steady appearance next to the ancestor, but after hearing Gawain's words, she still couldn't help muttering: "Actually, I still want to put a few fireballs by myself - the howitzer is definitely not as big as my fireball......"

Gawain sighed, "We're here to welcome guests, not kill them." ”

"I threw it into the sky, ......"

"That's what you said before you blew up the yard wall last time."

"Wow-"

Hetty had to cough softly to remind the pair of grandchildren beside him: "Ancestor, they are coming. ”

The convoy arrived at the square.

Victoria and Veronica witnessed the prosperity of Cecil along the way, saw the cheering crowd, saw the extremely grand fireworks, they and their retinue crossed the mechanical bridge over the Whitewater River, crossed the wide and neat riverbank avenue, escorted by cavalry and countless flowers, this team from St. Sunil finally arrived in Gawain?? Cecil in front of him.

I have seen everything that should be seen, and I must have felt what I should have felt.

The marching band in the square once again played the impressive march of the phalanxes, and the fluttering petals—a byproduct of the daily teaching of the druids and alchemy departments of the General Academy—flew over the square, and the magic guide car stopped steadily in the center of the square, and Victoria and Veronica stepped out of the car, escorted and received by the heroic knights.

"An impressive journey," the ruler of the North, Victoria?? Wild bowed in front of Gawain in the manner of a junior meeting an elder, and then raised his skirt and saluted according to the rules of a nobleman of the same rank, "far beyond my imagination." ”

"Cecil has always welcomed visitors, especially after the old people," Gawain smiled and nodded, accepting the full courtesy of the other party, and then he looked at Veronica on the side, "This is the second time we've met in this place, Princess Veronica." ”

"It's completely different from the last time," said the princess in the priest's robe, with a soft smile and a pleasant voice, "I can't believe that a city can grow like this in two years if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes." ”

"It's all about surviving in this barren land - humans are capable of anything to survive," Gawain turned sideways and opened his hand, "Welcome to Cecil - it's ready to welcome you." ”

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